JP7845643B2 - Remote centralized control system for the facility environment - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a remote centralized control system for the environment within a facility.

Various systems for controlling air conditioning and ventilation equipment in offices and other facilities are already known. For example, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when a sensor detects a person entering a room, the control device controls the operation of the air conditioning and ventilation equipment to match the target comfortable indoor atmosphere. However, this system only operates when a person enters a previously unoccupied facility. Therefore, it cannot quickly improve the indoor environment of a facility where the indoor environment changes moment by moment, such as a live music venue during a performance, even without new people entering. Furthermore, it lacks the function to quickly change the deteriorated indoor environment when the target facility is unoccupied, for example, before the use of a rental conference room or during personnel changes.

Patent Document 2 describes an air conditioning system that allows for easy input of commands to multiple remote control devices corresponding to multiple indoor air conditioning units. This system is envisioned as a scenario where the air conditioning of each room in a large facility, such as an office building, is centrally managed from a control room. Such a system does not anticipate specific actions or operations required to improve the indoor environment of multiple facilities or buildings, such as a user managing multiple tutoring centers deciding on rules for maintaining the indoor environment, including opening and closing windows and operating air conditioning/ventilation equipment, according to the specific circumstances of each classroom.

Patent Document 3 describes a diagnostic system that derives accurate fault causes and appropriate repair information for an air conditioner from operating data obtained from that air conditioner. This diagnostic system is envisioned for scenarios where specialized staff remotely maintain and inspect various types of air conditioning and ventilation equipment. Such a system is difficult for actual users of the facilities where the controlled air conditioning and ventilation equipment is installed, such as facility owners and employees.

As these examples show, conventional remote centralized control systems for ventilation and air conditioning equipment are designed for large-scale facilities and equipment, such as entire office buildings or entire systems of the same type of equipment. However, the facilities where indoor air quality is most likely to deteriorate are small and medium-sized venues and live music venues, and these venues are often scattered in multiple locations. Moreover, for these facilities, establishing staff and equipment specializing in the management of air conditioning and ventilation equipment would be a significant cost burden. For this reason, it has been difficult to introduce efficient air conditioning management systems in these small and medium-sized facilities.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-109422 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-146065 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-219306

The inventors sought a remote centralized control system that could efficiently control the indoor atmosphere of dispersed small and medium-sized facilities to a comfortable state without requiring specialized personnel or equipment.

As a result, we have completed a remote centralized control system that allows users to observe the atmosphere of multiple facilities at any time and anywhere using personal devices such as smartphones connected to the internet, enabling trend analysis and countermeasures. In other words, the present invention is as follows:

(Invention 1) A remote centralized management system for an in-facility environment, comprising sensors, a wireless unit, a cloud on the internet, a remote centralized management application, and a personal terminal,
The above sensor is,
Obtain one or more physical quantities and/or level values based on the internal environment of the facility,
The wireless unit communicates with the sensor via a communication line and transmits the one or more physical quantities and/or level values received from the sensor to the cloud on the internet.
The above-mentioned cloud on the internet stores one or more of the above-mentioned physical quantities and/or level values,
The above remote centralized management application uses the above one or more physical quantities and/or level values stored in the above cloud to evaluate the atmosphere inside the above facility.
The above personal device receives and displays the results of the above evaluation via the internet.
A remote centralized management system for the facility environment.
(Invention 2)
The above one or more physical quantities and/or level values include one or more values selected from the temperature, humidity, odor level, and gas composition inside the facility.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to Invention 1.
(Invention 3)
The above personal device can be selected from a smartphone, tablet, or PC.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to Invention 1.
(Invention 4)
The above remote centralized management application evaluates the atmosphere for multiple facilities,
The personal device mentioned above receives and displays the results of the above evaluation for each of the multiple facilities mentioned above.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to Invention 1.
(Invention 5)
The above remote centralized management application generates a signal to notify and/or warn the user based on the results of the above evaluation, and transmits the above signal to the above personal terminal.
The personal device mentioned above provides the user with notifications and/or warnings based on the above signals.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to Invention 1.
(Invention 6)
Furthermore, the system includes air conditioning and ventilation equipment, which is connected to the Internet and receives one or more target values selected from temperature, humidity, odor level, and gas composition, and operates according to these target values.
The above target values are values generated by the above remote centralized management application and/or values transmitted by the above user using the above personal terminal.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to Invention 1.

The remote centralized management system of the present invention can monitor, anytime and anywhere, whether the internal environment of a facility is comfortable or whether it meets public health standards, regardless of the type and number of air conditioning and ventilation equipment installed in the facility, and regardless of any changes or upgrades to the air conditioning and ventilation equipment.
The remote centralized management system of the present invention can provide users with evaluation reports, notifications, warnings, and other information regarding the internal environment of a target facility. Therefore, the system of the present invention can quickly and efficiently improve the internal environment of a facility.
The remote centralized management system of the present invention can also be equipped with a function to control the operation of the above-mentioned air conditioning and ventilation equipment. In this case, users of the system of the present invention can easily and quickly control the operation of the above-mentioned equipment from their personal mobile terminals.

A diagram illustrating the configuration of the present invention system. An example of a CSV file generated by the remote centralized management application of the present invention. An example of a user-facing image displayed on a personal device. A portion of an example of a report generated by the remote centralized management application of the present invention.

[Remote Centralized Management System]
The remote centralized management system of the present invention includes sensors, wireless units, a cloud on the internet, a remote centralized management application, and personal terminals. In this invention, the term "cloud" is used as a general term for IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.

[sensor]
The sensor used in this invention is a device that acquires physical quantities and/or level values based on the internal environment of a facility subject to remote centralized management. Typically, the physical quantities detected here include one or more values selected from temperature, humidity, odor level, and gas composition. The sensor is, for example, a device that measures the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, carbon monoxide concentration, ozone concentration, hypochlorous acid, and particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration inside the facility. The sensor is, for example, a device that measures the concentration of odor-causing substances inside the facility and converts the concentration into an odor intensity (odor level) value. The sensor may be a combination of the various sensors described above, or it may be a device that integrates the various sensors into a single unit.

The frequency and timing of acquiring the above-mentioned physical quantities and/or level values using the sensor of the present invention are set by the remote centralized management application described later. Specifically, the frequency and timing are determined according to the needs of the facility to which the system of the present invention is applied and the user of the system of the present invention.

For example, if the facility is a live music venue or school where rapid changes in indoor atmosphere are expected, the sensor will acquire the physical quantity and/or level values at a high frequency or continuously. Alternatively, if the facility is an office, the acquisition frequency can be set higher during business hours and lower outside of business hours.

The above-mentioned sensors (or combinations of sensors; hereinafter, all referred to as "sensors") may be one or multiple. For example, when applying the present invention system to multiple facilities, the above-mentioned sensors are installed at each facility, and each sensor acquires the above-mentioned physical quantities and/or level values at each facility.

[Wireless Unit]
The wireless unit used in this invention communicates with the sensor via a communication line and transmits the one or more physical quantities and/or level values received from the sensor to the cloud on the internet. The timing of the transmission is usually when the sensor has finished acquiring the physical quantities and/or level values.

For example, when applying the present invention system to multiple facilities, the wireless unit communicates with each sensor installed in the facilities, and the physical quantities and/or level values acquired by each sensor are transmitted to the cloud.

[Cloud]
The cloud used in this invention is located on the internet, and one or more physical quantities and/or level values are stored in a data center located in the cloud.

For example, when the present invention system is applied to multiple facilities, the data sensor stores the physical quantities and/or level values acquired at each facility as a dataset linked to each individual facility. For instance, if the sensor is installed in multiple classrooms of a cram school (classroom 1, classroom 2, classroom 3, ...) and the carbon dioxide concentration, room temperature, humidity, and odor level of each classroom are stored, the detection and measurement results are stored in a data storage area assigned to each classroom (classroom 1, classroom 2, classroom 3, ...).

[Remote Centralized Management Application]
The remote centralized management application used in this invention compares physical quantities and/or level values acquired at the facility with target values and evaluates the internal environment of the facility based on the comparison results. The remote centralized management application transmits the evaluation results to a personal terminal described later via the internet.

The system of this invention may automatically generate such evaluation results periodically, or it may generate them irregularly in response to user orders transmitted from a personal terminal as described later. The conditions for generating the above evaluation results can also be changed for each facility (sensor installation location). For example, it is possible to differentiate the frequency of evaluation result generation, such as higher during the day for shops and higher at night for live music venues.

[Personal device]
The personal terminals used in the present invention's system refer to all terminals that can be operated by an individual, connect to the internet, and have communication capabilities. Generally, these personal terminals are selected from smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Smartphones are preferred for users of the present invention's system to manage the environment of the target facility anytime, anywhere.
The personal terminal mentioned above may be a so-called wearable device. The wearable device is not limited to any device that can connect to the internet and communicate, which can be carried by the user of the present invention system in the same way as accessories or clothing. Examples of such wearable devices include portable stationery such as pens and pen cases, glasses, watches, wristbands, armbands, earphones, microphones, hats and gloves, necklaces and earrings, and various other accessories, or combinations thereof.

The personal terminal of the present invention receives a dataset containing the evaluation results via the internet. The remote centralized management application generates screen display data for the personal terminal based on the dataset, and the personal terminal displays facility environment information, including the evaluation results, for the user of the present invention.

Generally, the screen of the personal device displays the evaluation results, such as "Good," "Caution," or "Poor," along with the latest physical quantities and/or level values, such as carbon dioxide concentration (ppm), temperature (°C), and humidity (%).

By using the system of this invention, users can view the internal environment of all target facilities on their smartphone screen, even when they are located far away from the facilities.

[Notifications, warnings, reports]
The above-mentioned remote centralized management application not only generates the latest evaluation results based on the constantly changing internal environment of the facility, but also enables more powerful and rapid information dissemination to users of the present invention system.

The remote centralized management application, when it determines that the actual facility environment has deteriorated beyond a certain point from a pre-set target state, provides the user of the present invention with a message equivalent to "caution" or "warning" from the personal terminal, depending on the degree of deterioration. Such messages can take the form of images, text, audio, vibration, etc. When environmental deterioration within the target facility is detected, the user of the present invention can receive warning messages in real time from their personal terminal, such as a smartphone, no matter where they are, and quickly take action to improve the environment.

If a user of the present invention system receives a "warning" message and, for example, operates the air conditioning/ventilation equipment of the target facility, the sensor continues to measure the above physical quantity and/or level value. When the remote centralized management application determines that the facility environment is within the target range, the remote centralized management application can notify the user of the present invention of the environmental improvement from their personal terminal. In this case, the remote centralized management application sends a message generation dataset to the personal terminal, and text such as "recovered" or "good" is displayed on the screen of the personal terminal.

In the above-mentioned remote centralized management application, thresholds are pre-set for each of the physical quantities and/or level values in order to determine whether an area is inside or outside the target range. For example, they can be set as follows:

• Target range for carbon dioxide concentration: 800 ppm to 1000 ppm; Threshold: +200 ppm (above 1200 ppm is considered abnormal).

• Target room temperature range: 20°C to 28°C; threshold: ±2°C (temperatures below 18°C or above 30°C are considered abnormal).

* Target humidity range: 40% to 60%, threshold: ±5% (abnormal values are considered to be 35% or less, or 65% or more).

• Target odor level range: Index 65 or less, threshold: +5 (an index of 70 or higher is considered abnormal).

The odor levels that can be measured by so-called odor sensors generally include the six-level odor intensity scale (classified into levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), the odor index scale (displayed on an index of 10 to 40), and the odor concentration scale (displayed on a concentration of 10 to 10,000).

The remote centralized management application in this invention system can also provide users with so-called "trends and countermeasures." For example, it can derive characteristics and changing trends of the internal environment of managed facilities from various perspectives such as time, location (facility), and viewpoint (physical quantities and/or level values), and generate reports. Users can download these reports to their personal devices. The data from these reports is stored in the cloud.

The system of this invention can also execute various learning programs on various historical facility environment information stored in the cloud. In this case, the remote centralized management application of the system of this invention can suggest means to the user for maintaining the environment of the target facility in a target state. For example, recommended actions such as "ventilation is needed around ** o'clock every day" can be displayed on the user's smartphone along with the above reports and messages.

[Air conditioning and ventilation equipment]
In this invention, "air conditioning and ventilation equipment" refers to all equipment installed in the facility under management for adjusting the atmosphere inside the facility. Examples of such air conditioning and ventilation equipment include indoor units that perform heating, cooling, dehumidification, and ventilation; controllers and outdoor units that are linked to the indoor units; humidifiers; deodorizing substance generating equipment; dust collectors such as so-called air purifiers; and equipment with fragrance diffusion functions such as so-called aroma diffusers. Examples of such air conditioning and ventilation equipment also include equipment with ventilation functions such as ventilation fans, total heat exchangers, and dampers.

Air conditioning and ventilation equipment can be connected to the present invention system via wired or wireless connections, and the remote centralized management application of the present invention can directly operate the air conditioning and ventilation equipment. Typically, a user who receives the above "warning" sends an order to change the settings of the air conditioning and ventilation equipment from their smartphone, and the air conditioning and ventilation equipment operates in accordance with the order received via the internet. For example, a user can operate the air conditioning and ventilation equipment of a target facility from a remote location by entering "temperature + 2°C" on their smartphone screen.

[service]
Using the system of the present invention, the following services can be provided to the user, for example.

(Service Example 1) The present invention's system is linked to a wide range of equipment, including ventilation systems, air conditioning systems, deodorizers, ozone generators (sterilization and disinfection devices), and air purifiers. Basically, cable wiring is used. Users can remotely monitor indoor air quality in real time using smartphones or PCs. If the remote centralized management application detects an abnormality in the air quality values, it immediately sends alarm data to the smartphone or PC, and the user receives an alarm message (alert function). Users can download previously accumulated data to analyze trends in indoor environmental pollution levels. As a result of the analysis, users can identify issues in each facility (e.g., equipment deterioration or contamination, accommodating more people than expected, insufficient performance of air conditioning and ventilation equipment, etc.).

(Service Example 2) A remote centralized management application runs a machine learning program and uses it to analyze the vast amount of data from the target facilities stored in the cloud. Based on the learning results, the remote centralized management application derives trends in indoor environmental pollution levels and challenges for each facility. Furthermore, the remote centralized management application generates reports based on these trends and challenges. Users periodically (basically monthly) retrieve these reports containing trends and challenges from their personal mobile devices.

(Service Example 3) In the event of a problem at a target facility, the user can change the settings of the facility's equipment using a smartphone, tablet, or PC. As a result, emergency measures can be completed without the user having to travel to the facility. For example, if the carbon dioxide concentration far exceeds the standard value, the user can increase the operating intensity of the ventilation equipment by lowering the target carbon dioxide value using their smartphone. In this case, the carbon dioxide concentration will decrease in a shorter time than if the ventilation equipment were maintained at normal operation.

[Example 1]
Figure 1 shows an illustrative diagram to help understand the configuration of the present invention system. The present invention system (1) remotely centrally manages the internal environment of multiple facilities (11, 12, 13). System (1) includes sensors (21, 22, 23), wireless units (31, 32, 33), a cloud (5) on the internet (4), a remote centralized management application (6) provided by the cloud (5), and personal terminals (7), and environmental data acquired by numerous sensors is stored and analyzed on the cloud.

[Example 2]
Figure 2 shows an example of a CSV file generated by the remote centralized management application of the present invention based on environmental data stored in the cloud. Users of the system of the present invention can download such a CSV file to their personal terminal.

[Example 3]
Figure 3 is an example of a user-facing image displayed on a personal terminal generated by the remote centralized management application of the present invention. The image shows that the current carbon dioxide concentration obtained from sensor 21 is 886 ppm, the room temperature is 22.0°C, the humidity is 40.2%, and the odor level is 44, indicating that the internal environment of facility 11 is good, along with a graph showing the recent changes in each value. Users of the system of the present invention can observe the internal environment of individual facilities with such image data anytime, anywhere.

[Example 4]
A demonstration experiment of the present invention system was conducted in a small live music venue with a spatial volume of approximately 300 square meters.

Before the introduction of the present invention's system, the time required for carbon dioxide levels to decrease from an abnormal value of 3000 ppm (three times the standard value) to the standard value of 1000 ppm was 30 minutes when the ventilation system was operated continuously. In this case, the carbon dioxide concentration that decreased per minute was (3000 - 1000) / 30 = approximately 66.7 ppm.

When the system of this invention was implemented and the output of the ventilation system was increased immediately after the warning message was issued, the abnormal value of 3000 ppm decreased to 650 ppm in 2.5 minutes. In this case, the decrease in carbon dioxide concentration per minute was (3000 - 650) / 2.5 = 940 ppm.

It was confirmed that the carbon dioxide concentration reduction effect improved by approximately 14 times (940/66.7) with the introduction of the present invention system.

[Example 5]
The present invention system was tested in a school classroom with a floor area of 100 square meters. Previous experience had shown that the indoor environment deteriorates with an increase in the number of people in the room, continuous use, and eating and drinking inside the room. Using the present invention system, various environmental values were collected and graphed weekly to quantitatively understand changes in the indoor environment. The person in charge obtained the collected data and graphs on a smartphone and did not enter the target classroom during the test. As a result of reviewing the collected data and graphs, it was possible to determine rules for opening and closing the windows of the school classroom. By using the present invention system, the burden of trial and error was reduced and a cost-effective solution was achieved.

[Example 6]
The present invention system was tested in a small office with a floor area of 50 square meters. Previous experience had shown that the indoor environment deteriorated with an increase in the number of people in the office, extended business hours, and indoor dining. Using the present invention system, various environmental values were collected and graphed weekly to quantitatively understand changes in the indoor environment. The person in charge obtained the collected data and graphs on a smartphone and did not enter the target office during the test. As a result of reviewing the collected data and graphs, it was possible to determine the model and installation location of a new ventilation system. By using the present invention system, the burden of trial and error was reduced and a cost-effective solution was achieved.

[Example 7]
Figure 4 shows a portion of an example of a report generated by the remote centralized management application of the present invention. Users can download such analysis results as a report to their personal terminal. In this example, the results of odor levels acquired over the past week at facilities where sensor 2 is installed are displayed. Users can visually grasp, for example, the general trend of changes in odor levels for each target facility, and time periods with high odor levels using time, date, and day of the week as scales.

Users of the present invention's system can typically manage the internal environments of multiple facilities simultaneously, anytime and anywhere, using compact equipment including sensors, internet-connected devices, and smartphones. The present invention's system is a means of centrally managing many facilities with minimal resources. It is useful for managing small to medium-sized facilities such as live music venues, schools, cram schools, clinics, community centers, conference rooms, indoor sports facilities, restaurants, and plant factories, which were not anticipated by conventional management systems. The present invention's system can also be used for disaster preparedness and public health measures. Because it allows for the management of numerous facilities with limited human resources, the present invention is also suitable for a society with a declining birthrate and aging population.

1. Remote centralized management system for the facility environment of the present invention 11, 12, 13 Facilities 21, 22, 23 Sensors 31, 32, 33 Wireless unit 4 Internet 5 Cloud 6 Remote centralized management application 7 Personal terminal

Claims (6)

A remote centralized management system for an in-facility environment, including sensors, wireless units, a cloud on the internet, a remote centralized management application, and personal terminals,
The above facilities are one or more selected from live music venues, schools, cram schools, clinics, community centers, conference rooms, indoor sports facilities, restaurants, and plant factories.
The above sensor acquires one or more physical quantities and/or level values based on the internal environment of the facility.
The wireless unit communicates with the sensor via a communication line and transmits the one or more physical quantities and/or level values received from the sensor to the cloud on the internet.
The above-mentioned cloud on the internet stores one or more of the above-mentioned physical quantities and/or level values,
The above remote centralized management application uses the above one or more physical quantities and/or level values stored in the above cloud to evaluate the atmosphere inside the above facility, generates report data based on the characteristics and changing trends of the internal environment of the above facility, and the above report data is stored in the above cloud.
The personal device described above can receive and display the results of the above evaluation via the internet, and can also download an evaluation report containing trends and challenges regarding the degree of contamination at the above facility, based on the above report data.
A remote centralized management system for the facility environment. The above one or more physical quantities and/or level values include one or more values selected from the temperature, humidity, odor level, and gas composition inside the facility.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to claim 1. The above personal device can be selected from a smartphone, tablet, or PC.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to claim 1. The above remote centralized management application evaluates the atmosphere for multiple facilities,
The personal device mentioned above receives and displays the results of the above evaluation for each of the multiple facilities mentioned above.
A remote centralized management system for the in-facility environment according to claim 1. The above remote centralized management application generates a signal to notify and/or warn the user based on the results of the above evaluation, and transmits the above signal to the above personal terminal.
The personal device mentioned above provides the user with notifications and/or warnings based on the above signals.
A remote centralized management system for the facility environment according to claim 1. Furthermore, the system includes air conditioning and ventilation equipment, which is connected to the Internet and receives one or more target values selected from temperature, humidity, odor level, and gas composition, and operates according to these target values.
The above target values are values generated by the above remote centralized management application and/or values transmitted by the user using the above personal terminal.
A remote centralized management system for the facility environment according to claim 1.